1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is directed to a trailer for a dumping vehicle. In particular, the present invention is directed to a tipper trailer wherein the sidewalls are constructed of metal sheets welded together along horizontal seams that are covered by horizontal rails on the interior surfaces of the sidewalls and wherein the floor of the tipper trailer slopes downward from the front to the rear. One or more additional horizontal rails may be attached to the interior surfaces to provide added support for the sidewalls.
2. Prior Art
Tipper trailers are used to transport cargo, such as garbage or other materials, behind trucks or other vehicles. The cargo is dumped from a tipper trailer by moving the trailer onto a platform, detaching the truck, and then tilting the platform so that the front end of the tipper trailer is raised above the rear end, and the cargo slides out the rear end by force of gravity. Unlike a dump trailer, the platform provides the tilting force to raise the trailer between the loading and unloading positions.
The sidewalls of tipper trailers are typically constructed from sheets of aluminum that are welded together along their sides so that a series of vertical seams are produced. The vertical seams provide wear points where a weakness can occur as the cargo slides over the sidewalls during dumping of a tipper trailer.
In the prior art, vertical rails have been placed over the seams to protect the seams from wear and also to provide support for the sidewalls. If the vertical rails are placed in the interior of a tipper trailer, they interfere with the discharge of the cargo during dumping. Typically, therefore, vertical rails are placed on the exterior of a tipper trailer so that the interior is smooth. Placing rails on the exterior of a tipper trailer results in a reduction of the interior volume available for cargo, since the overall width of the tipper trailer is limited by traffic laws. In addition, numerous vertical seams and vertical rails are required in the construction of a tipper trailer, because the lengths of the sidewalls are typically many times their height, and the expense of welding numerous sheets of metal together and welding numerous rails onto the sidewalls significantly increases the cost of manufacturing a tipper trailer.
Also, in the prior art, the floor of a tipper trailer is constructed so that it is at a minimum height in order to accommodate the hitch (or fifth wheel) to the truck or other vehicle used to pull the tipper trailer. The floor is typically parallel to the ground throughout. The overall height, width, and length of the tipper trailer are all limited by traffic laws. Therefore, the height of the floor affects the interior volume and capacity of the tipper trailer for cargo.
It is, therefore, an object and purpose of the present invention to provide a tipper trailer with a strong structure that will withstand wear and tear during loading, transporting, and dumping operations and have a long useful life.
It is a further object and purpose of the present invention to provide a tipper trailer with a configuration that will facilitate the sliding of the cargo from its interior during dumping.
It is a further object and purpose of the present invention to provide the maximum interior volume for a tipper trailer whose overall height, width, and length are limited by traffic laws.
It is a further object and purpose of the present invention to provide a tipper trailer that may be manufactured quickly at minimum cost that will satisfy the other objects of the invention.
The present invention provides a trailer that has a primary application for the transporting and dumping of materials, such as garbage. The tipper trailer includes a front, a rear, two opposing sidewalls, and a floor extending between the sidewalls and from the front to the rear that is supported by a plurality of wheels. The front, rear, opposing sidewalls and floor form an open top container for the receipt of the materials to be transported. During loading and transportation of cargo, the tipper trailer is substantially parallel to the ground and it is attached to and moved by a truck or other vehicle. At the rear is a rear tail gate that is hinged at the top, bottom, or one of the sides so that it can swing open for unloading.
The trailer is emptied by backing or pulling it on to a tipper platform and detaching it from the truck or other vehicle that was used to transport it. The tipper platform has a flat section for the trailer and a hydraulic mechanism to lift the trailer. The tipper platform is then tilted so that the front end of the tipper trailer is raised above the rear and the cargo slides out the rear by force of gravity.
The opposing sidewalls of the trailer are constructed by welding two large sheets of aluminum to form horizontal seams running along their entire length. The sheets of aluminum for the sidewalls are stored on large rolls. Although the width of the sheets is variable, typically, the widest available sheets are not wide enough for the entire sidewall height. By way of example and not limitation, the maximum width of a sheet might be 96xe2x80x3, while the height of the sidewall could be 115xe2x80x3.
The horizontal seams are wear points which are reinforced by covering them with horizontal rails that are placed on the interior surfaces of the sidewalls. Other horizontal rails are attached to the interior surfaces of the sidewalls to provide them with added strength. The floor is higher at the front of the tipper trailer than at the rear in order to accommodate the hitch (or fifth wheel) to the truck or other vehicle to which the tipper trailer is attached. Stated in other words, the sidewalls are higher at the rear than at the front. Making the floor lower at the rear than in the front maximizes the interior volume available for cargo for a given overall height, width and length of a tipper trailer.
The floor of the trailer also tapers and is wider at the rear then the front in order to promote unloading of the trailer cargo.